“Can I interview you?”
Living like a hermit was cool, so he thought. No more going to the station. No more unholy hours at stakeouts. No more running like crazy to apprehend criminals.
Still wearing his night clothes, he playfully tossed ideas in the air when all of a sudden he announced a brilliant query that he prayed would be answered..
“If you are really out there? Can you give me a sign?” he looked around. “But, don’t spook me, please.”
Hope has been busy, going to and fro to all her proteges, keeping them inspired.
“All right!” she accepted the challenge. “You have to be perceptive.“
The sound from the kettle blew stronger than usual, the steam generated an image most people would think of as nothing but a mirage.
Dave rushed to the kitchen, warned that he forgot to turn the stove off.
Hope was delighted he received the signal instantly.
“I am still waiting,” he said, pouring the hot water in a thermos. “The sign, please.”
If she could laugh, she would have done it a long time ago. Dave was not too bright when it came to supernatural phenomena. A child has more intuitive intelligence than him.
“The tub!” he shouted, hearing trickles from the bathroom: water brimmed over the edges.
Hope was having a great time. Her protege seemed unprepared to treat everyday activities as simple inspirations and not as routines like he used to think of.
“Can’t seem to be doing anything right today!” he sighed, wiping the floor.
“Surrendering easily?” Hope whispered.
Dave went back to the kitchen and took out last night’s sandwich from the fridge. He paired it with a glass of orange juice before walking back to the living room where he moved his writing desk from the bedroom.
“If you will not show me a sign, at least give me something to write about.”
“Here’s something that will make you believe in me,” she said. “Turn on the radio!“
Dave felt a twitch in his writing hand, stopping him momentarily from drawing caricatures of what he imagined as Emil’s muse. His gaze was directed to the stereo component: he was subconsciously told to stand up to turn the system on.
He followed what his mind ordered, choosing not his customary DVD music but the seldom listened to FM radio. It was as if something influenced him to go for the change.
After a lively paid advertisement, the female DJ went on air.
“Good day, people! Feeling down this dreary Tuesday morning? Cheer up and listen!“
As he listened, he kept staring at the ceiling. He could not help but visualize what a muse would look like.
“I believe you are out there,” he said afterward. “I won’t question your existence.”
“You better not,” Hope whispered.
Dave stood up again, leaving the radio on. He approached the bottom of the shelf where he placed all of Emil’s notes. The hard drive was still untouched, its contents waiting to be checked. He realized its owner did a lot of harm to many people: it was now his job to right them for him.
“Please help me!”
“I will.“
(to be concluded)
belsbror 